Penguins, Pain and the Whole Shebang: Why I Do the Things I Do, by God (as told to John Shore)

In this extraordinary book God (who, it turns out, is excruciatingly funny: who knew?) directly answers the dozen objections to Christianity most typically raised by non-Christians. The book’s opening dialogue between God and the archangel Michael on the eve before God introduces Adam onto planet earth is worth the price alone. More

One year after his sudden and utterly out-of-the-blue conversion to Christianity (which he describes in the riveting afterword of this book), John Shore reportedly found himself overwhelmed by the desire to write something that Christians could give to non-Christians by way of proving that just because one is Christian doesn’t automatically mean that one is irrational. The result is the delightfully profound “‘Penguins, Pain and the Whole Shebang: Why I Do the Things I Do,’ by God (as told to John Shore),” in which God (who, it turns out, is excruciatingly funny: who knew?) directly answers the dozen objections to Christianity most typically raised by non-Christians. The book’s opening dialogue between God and the archangel Michael on the eve before God introduces Adam onto planet earth is worth the price alone.

There is no finer, accessible, or creative Christian apologetic. This is the book for which Mr. Shore is most likely to be remembered.

John Shore is an award-winning book author. His articles for The Huffington Post's Religion section are among its most popular. His blog, JohnShore.com, is one of the most read and commented upon in the blogosphere. He is the founder of the growing movement known as Unfundamentalist Christians.

“John Shore is awesome. The minute I started reading his stuff, I knew he was a brother from another mother.” — Rob Bell, author of Love Wins, Sex God, and Velvet Elvis.

“John Shore is a gadfly, calling the Christian Church everywhere to act the way it says it believes about love and justice, which of course makes him an uncomfortable presence in those churches that do not like to be forced to face reality. So were the prophets of old. So was Jesus of Nazareth.” — John Shelby Spong. author of Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, and others.

“John Shore is funny as hell and smart as hell, which is good because I’ve heard that we’re both going to spend a long time there.” — Tony Jones, Theoblogy.

“John Shore’s unique, honest, and passionate writings draw us to dig a little deeper, to listen with the intention of truly hearing and understanding each other. He gives voice to those without a platform; he puts into words our latent questions/ observations about today’s topics that are begging to be addressed from the viewpoint of an informed Christian”– Spencer Burke, founder of TheOOZE.com

“Shore is a humorist whose work is more comedic than Donald Miller, and his appeal to Christians is more direct.”– Michael Spencer, a.k.a. The Internet Monk, author of the bestseller Mere Churchianity.

“John Shore is a remarkably gifted writer who knows exactly what he is doing.” — Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Twelve Times Blessed and The Breakdown Lane.

“John Shore is one of those rare writers who can make people laugh and think at the same time. He’s one of the most talented, funny, and deeply thoughtful writers I know. He’s a sincere pleasure to read.”— Richard Louv, author of international bestsellers Last Child in the Woods, and The Nature Principle.

“John Shore, the legitimate son of Kurt Vonnegut and Dave Barry, writes with a freaky energy and humor and imagination that illuminate his characters’ and readers’ hearts. He’s the real thing.”— Richard Lederer, author of more than thirty books on the English language, including the bestselling Anguished English series and The Miracle of Language.

“Shore is a madman and a genius.”— Eric Metaxas, author of bestsellers Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, and, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, the Christian Booksellers Association 2011 Book of the Year.